We’re back from Kansas following a terrific learning, baking, and video-shooting trip with our new sponsor, Gold Medal Flour. Many of you know that we;ve used Gold Medal flours for years. We even tested our books with them–they work beautifully and the loaves always turn out great. So we were thrilled to fly to Kansas with the Gold Medal team to visit one of their wheat growers and see their largest mill, and shoot a fantastic video.

It was hot down in Kansas, and that reminds me– it’s time to re-post the links to our summer outdoor-baking ideas (at the bottom)…

Jay Armstrong…

….is a fourth-generation Kansas farmer, working 2,700 acres with the help of some very cool machines, like this combine…

….which strips whole-grain kernels of wheat from the straw and chaff of the wheat stalks:

Despite all the technology available to him, Jay’s preferred method for testing the wheat to see if’s ready for harvest is to pick a stalk, rub away the chaff in his hands until he has kernels, and then chew them. If it turns to gum in his teeth,he knows it’s got too much moisture to harvest (and he won’t get his full price). If it cracks, it’s ready for the combine…

Don’t worry, he didn’t let either of us drive…

Our two acres harvested, off we went to the KC mill (third-largest in North America)…

…where the wheat’s ground into flour…

… and loaded onto the trains (which come right into the building).

Then off to the Culinary Center of Kansas City for a Bake-Off–the rules were that we each had to bake one of the other blogger’s recipes…

It was an awesome dessert table. But I did say something about a Gold Medal giveaway, didn’t I?

The prize will contain: a Gold Medal Flour apron, a Wilton Elite three-tier cooling rack, a Silpat non-stick baking mat, a Norpro stainless steel cookie scoop, some Over the Rainbow cupcake liners, and some Gold Medal measuring cups and bowl scraper. We’ll be selecting one random winner sometime in the next two weeks (we’ll give a heads-up when we’re about to close the contest on Twitterand Facebook). To enter, just comment below (our usual contest rules apply, US residents only, only one comment per entrant, etc.). We’ve Picked a Winner!!!

Here’s one I did at home:

It’s not really braided. Here’s another, with savory fillings from an earlier post; same idea but with Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nuts.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Roll out the dough into a narrow rectangle 1/8-inch thick.
Place the dough onto the lined cookie sheet. Cover the center third of the dough with the cream, jam, and berries as in the video.
Use a pizza wheel to cut about 12 strips down each side; each strip should be about 1/2-inch wide. Fold the strips, left over right, crisscrossing the filling. Allow to rest for 40 minutes (20 in a pinch).
Preheat the oven to 375F. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sugar.
Place cookie sheet in center of the oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Can serve slightly warm.

Zoe that looked like such fun! I love that you added the beautiful candy lace and bacon to your cupcakes! And thanks for sharing the summer outdoor baking recipes! We are going camping in another week and we are doing lots of fun cooking at our campsite like Girl Scout Gumbo, beer-battered fish and making one of your recipes would be a great addition! Thank you

I have been using Gold Medal flour in your recipes since buying your first book. (I have the other two books and print-outs from your web posts in a notebook, as well.) I agree that Gold Medal flour does work great in your recipes. Thanks for bringing me lots of fun and yumminess! Would love to have that apron and the Silpat.

just used the very same flour to make grilled flatbreads for friends and family at my house last night! margarita flatbread was the clear winner, bit the prosciutto goat cheese with herbed olive oil was my personal favorite.

What a great trip and opportunity for you! Personally, I would LOVE to have a Silpat mat. I’m gearing up to try your bread in a Dutch oven on the grill. Been looking for a recipe for this since summer has turned up the heat a bit early. Thank you!

I grew up on a Kansas farm. Drove the wheat truck to the local elevator for my Dad. My brothers just finished up another harvest season a couple weeks ago – our first one without Dad. Thanks for the pics. Was nice to go home for a moment.

So if I use Gold Medal Flour I can make all those beautiful things that are shown in the excellent article I just read? That would be a magic trick for me and it would be a gift I’d never want to lose!

I would love to assemble a braided raspberry almond cream pastry on a Friday and have it ready to bake on a Saturday morning–is this possible? If so, can you detail specifics–what would the resting time be on bake day, etc.? Thanks, and if this is possible, my family will be so happy!

We do a refrigerator rise trick with loaf breads (see FAQs entry “Dense crumb: What am I doing wrong?” and scroll down). You could try the same thing with a braid, with the standard resting time the next day. One warning, we haven’t tried this, but I’m guessing it’ll work well. But I’m afraid you have to consider it an experiment. Do a dry run?

First of all, I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful books! I just discovered the New ABin5 a few weeks ago and have been baking up a storm since! Between your books, website, and videos, you make this possible for anyone to do. I found this recipe and altered your almond cream to make a cream cheese filling. I just subbed the softened cream cheese for almond paste and used vanilla extract instead of almond. It was delicious! I didn’t use it all and notice you can freeze the excess. How long can it be frozen and any recommendations on packaging before freezing? Thanks in advance!